Coming Out of the Coffin: 'TrueBlood' and the Modern Day Vampire
by Jessica Jimenez
The westernized version of the vampire is itself an anomaly. What started out as a folkloric monster in Asia, Africa, and South America has transformed into a creature of a tantalizing—albeit dangerous—nature. The man accredited with popularizing this creature and setting in motion its Cinderella-like transformation is Bram Stoker, who created Count Dracula: an elegant, intelligent, alluring, bloodsucking, shape-shifting vampire whose kryptonites include garlic, sunlight, holy water, silver, and wooden stakes through the heart. Dracula is the original hypersexual, immortal, blood-sucking vampire of the West, and has spurred the relatively recent fascination with this creature of the night.
So, what is it about the vampire that draws so many readers, audiences and imitators? There are many elements that make the vampire enticing; however, the element that trumps all others is its blatantly powerful sexual and sensual nature. Can you imagine being so enthralled and so lustful that you are driven mad by the need to consume a person's blood and, subsequently, life? How about being imprisoned by the incessant desire to consume someone, mind and body? It is that darkly passionate premise which holds tremendous appeal; to quiver in both fear and delight at having yourself ensnared and overpowered by a more powerful being. The next appealing element of the vampire is the human tendency I like to regard as the 'Eve Complex.’ Humans long for what they know they can't and/or shouldn't have, much like the apple became all the more tempting to Eve because it was forbidden. It is this taboo, this sense of rebellion and danger, that makes this creature so tempting. Ultimately, these two elements constitute the "Lion-Lamb" romance that captivates the emotional imagination.
The anti-hero known as the vampire has survived in the modern collective conscious through such gothic novels and screenplays as Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned and Interview with a Vampire, Wes Craven's Dracula 2000 and most recently, Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. However, this pop culture vampire craze has not gone unnoticed amongst television networks, which have caught on and have begun producing such original series as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Blade.
Now HBO, known for its iconic series Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos, has come out with a new original series entitled TrueBlood. TrueBlood takes place in a world where vampires, who, enveloped in secrecy and myth, are not only real but have "come out of the coffin" so to speak, and are seeking integration and coexistence with humans. Well, some of them anyway. Among those vampires who wish to "mainstream" is Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire. His conflict stems from his socially unacceptable and seemingly impossible relationship with the protagonist of the series Sookie Stackhouse, a quirky mind-reading waitress. Yes, mind-readers along with shape shifters and werewolves exist as well.
With a description like that you'd think the show would be an unwatchable joke; however, while not yet embodying all the wit and solidity of its HBO brethren, it does have potential and is not to be prematurely dismissed. Mythical creatures are cleverly used as vehicles for commentary on prejudice, racism, and the tendency for humans to shun and fear what cannot be easily understood.
The show, while tackling human rights issues with a dark complexity, also manages to be comedic. This comedy stems from the writing (despite the occasional lapse in quality), and the vast array of unconventional supporting characters, such as Sookie's brother Jason Stackhouse— a seemingly shallow, nymphomaniacal druggie, and Tara Thorton—Sookie's rude, caustic, and internally-conflicted best friend.
Like any HBO original series, TrueBlood has copious amounts of sex. It is only original in that instead of extremely steamy human sex scenes it has extremely steamy vampire sex scenes. What can be praised about the sometimes unnecessary nude scenes is that you forget how unnecessary they really are because they are so damn sultry. Not only are the actors themselves good looking, but the chemistry that they share on camera is explosive. The attraction is most notable in the characters of Sookie and Bill who, for the first few episodes, suffer from a sexual tension so strong that the viewer is left squirming in his seat, and then engage in sex so hot that the viewer can't help but blush. Thus, while dispensable, the sexual context does add to the entertainment and does help distinguish it as a series for adults, as opposed to shows like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.
With a serious and relevant underlying theme, entertaining characters, and some shameless (but satisfying) nudity, TrueBlood, yet another romanticization of the vampire, has the potential to become one of HBO's hit series. It would come as no surprise if Prince Charming were soon replaced with a Prince of the Damned, if he hasn't been already.
